Be fit mom: core exercises while pregnant

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lovesfit wrote:

I am 28 weeks pregnant and do crossfit 4-5/week. I am working at a pretty moderate to high intensity including weights and cardio. I have for awhile and did with my previous pregnancy. I am very comfortable doing so. However I was wondering what are some good core exercises to incorporate in substitution for some of our movements like toes to bar,sit-up,v-up etc are hanging knee raises ok? What about mountain climbers or holding a plank and reaching knee to opp elbow? I am very worried about DI. Please help. Thanks.

If you can do a hanging knee raise with a strong enough abdominal compression so that your bump does not bulge away from your mid line, then OK, if not, then no.

Mountain climbers: same, if you can do this with adequate core support, then OK, if not, then no. Knee to opp elbow: no as this works your obliques as a prime mover.

All exercises that work the abdominal wall in opposition to gravity are more challenging as pregnancy advances. Some think that the risk of DR is too high in these types of moves, but I think that technique is the real dividing line.

Standard planks and side planks should be OK for you. Combo moves like plank, into down dog, into plank, into pushup should be OK.

Be aware that when you use free weights or cables during exercises that requires you to stabilize a neutral spine, that these work you core too. You can challenge the core aspect by doing a lot of these while seated on a large exercise ball. (This takes away the power of your legs and hips.) As you move into your 3rd tri, focusing on moves that require stabilization of a neutral spine is a good idea.

Always perform the strongest abdominal compression that you can before/during every rep. Never do any moves that causes your bump to push away from your spine. Starting your workout with simple abdominal compressions and abdominal compressions with pelvic tilt can help you make sure that you're engaging your core correctly through the rest of your WO.

Spoke with the NP today and I have DR (about two fingers width). It scares me bc I don't want it to get worse! I guess I want to do the least stressful core movements I can. Is a plank ok for that? In your experience can DR resolve after pregnancy? The NP didn't give me any guidance other than "look it up" ugh how frustrating! Does Olympic lifting affect it? I dead lift quite heavy.